Some conservationists now propose combining protected areas with logging concessions to sustain larger forest landscapes than possible via protected areas alone. This approach has the merit of generating income and employment — arguably making it easier to gain political and public support for conservation.
Timber harvesting in Indonesia’s logging concessions is selective. Generally, this leaves more than 90 percent of the trees standing, and the remaining vegetation recognizably constitutes a forest. Not only does selective logging maintain a forest structure, but also a logged tropical forest can remain a biologically rich forest.
[Read full text on CIFOR Forests News]